TERI can’t give secure working environment to women: Ex-employee

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) The woman who lodged a sexual harassment case in February last year against environmentalist R.K. Pachauri said on Thursday that TERI can’t give a secure working environment to women employees and she felt better after leaving the organisation.

In an exclusive interview to IANS, the woman said she faced an extremely difficult situation as TERI gave her “zero support” and she was left to fend for herself.

“I feel better having resigned from TERI,” she said.

Days after Pachauri was promoted as executive vice chairman of TERI, another former woman employee of the organisation on Wednesday levelled similar charges against him.

In an open letter to the media, she said: “Ever since the FIR against Pachauri came to light, I have been stating that I have also been sexually harassed by Pachauri, but all the efforts to have my statement recorded have been obstructed by police.”

During a brief hearing on Thursday, the court was told by the complainant’s advocate that one TERI employee, who has now resigned, had filed a police complaint on January 12 saying senior officials of TERI were pressurising him to have the matter settled by the woman with Pachauri.

After the woman employee filed a sexual harassment complaint, Pachauri denied the charge but stepped down as chairperson of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February last year and proceeded on leave from TERI where he was the director general.

Later, Pachauri was removed as TERI head in July and Ajay Mathur appointed in his place.

In November, the woman researcher who accused him of sexual harassment quit her job at TERI, alleging she was treated badly. TERI denied the charge.